Cattle marker



1943- w. F. 'SCHACHT 2,327,823

CATTLE MARKER Filed Aug. 22, 194']. 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 24, 1943. w sc c 2,327,823

' CATTLE MARKER Filed Aug. 22, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 24, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,327,823 r it v i CATTLE MARKER William F. Schacht,Huntingtn, Ind. Application August 22, 1941, Serial No. 407,96 8

9 Claims.

plate of simple construction, and made of any suitable material such as brass, or steel which may be chrome-plated or brass-plated, and bearing appropriate identification indicia, said p1ate having a shank at the upper edge of the plate,

which shank may be single but is preferably split, the members of the shank being bent back upon themselves to form integral eyes, a link at one end of the chain being secured in one said eye, and

the other eye being left partially open so that in applying the marker it was only necessary to pass the chain around the neck or horns of the live-stock and to engage a link adjacent the free end of the chain'in said open eye, thereafter applying suiiicient pressure to close the open eye thus locking the ends of the chain around the neck or horns of the animal to prevent ready removal therefrom.

.I have found, from practical experience, that the animals often rub their horns and heads together tangling or looking the chains together, or catch the chains in fences or the like, and the pull on the chain caused by attempts to free 1 same opens one or both eyes whereby the marker becomes detached and lost. In order to prevent such loss, I have provided the marker plates with novel means for preventing the chain links from slipping out of eyes which are not fully closed, also means for preventing twisting or bending of theeyes, and also means forpreventing opening of the eyes.

One object therefore of my invention is to provide a marker of the. above type with raised lips or offset portions formed in the material of the shanks adjacent the outer ends of each shank so that when the shanks are bent or rolled over to form the eyes the raised lips or projections will project inwardly of the eyes adjacent the split and efiectivelyprevent the link of the chain which is engaged in said eye from readily slipping out if the eye is not fully closed.

Another object is to provide novel means for preventing the outer ends of the shanks from spreading laterally of the eyes due to opposed .fied marker plate.

ing the outer edgesgof the shanks of the eyes adjacent the split, or consisting of flattened rings adapted to embrace both eyes and mounted on the outer portions of the shank members thereof adjacent the splits. l

Still another object of the invention is topro- ,vide novel means for preventing opening of the eyes due to pull on the chain consistingof raised projections or shoulders at the bases of theshank members of the eyes upon which the outer ends of the shanks seat when the shanksvare rolled to form the eyes, said raised projectionsbeing formed by offsetting ridges or -groovesin the material of: the marker, plate itself at the'bases of the hank members. Other minor objects hereinafter set forth.

I will explain the invention with' reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate several practical embodiments thereof to enable others to adopt and use the same; and will summarize in the claims the novel features of construction, and novel'combinations of parts, .for which protection is desired. I

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view showing my' novel chain marker applied to the'horns of a cow.

Fig. 2 is a View showing the'chain marker applied around the neck ofacow. I

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a blank from which the marker plate is made. H

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the chain marker of the invention will be shown in Fig. 3 after the shank members have been rolled to form eyes.

Fig. 5 is a plan viewof 'a" blank for 4 a modi- Fig. 6 is aside elevation of the marker shown in Fig. 5 after the shank'members have been rolled to form eyes. j

Fig. 7 is a'perspeotive View of the finished v marker plateformedfrom the blank shown in strains on the opposite ends of the chain, said Fig. 5, said view'showing one end of the chain locked in one closed eye of the marker plate, the

other eye beingopento receive a linkat the other end of the chain;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of -afurthermodified blank- Fig. 9'is aside elevation of a marker from the blank shown in Fig. 8.

formed Fig. 10 is a plan view of a still 'further -rnodified blank. 1

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of one form of finished markerform'ed'from the blank shown in Figrlo.

Fig. 12 is a side elevation of another formof finished marker formed from the blank shown in Fig/10.

Fig. 13 is a plan view of a further modified form of blank having a strap for preventing spreading of the eyes, said View showing one end of the chain and the link engaged in one closed eye, the other eye being open to receive a link at the other end of the chain, and the strap.

Fig. 14 is a plan view of the marker shown. in Fig. 13 when locked upon the horns or neck of the animal.-

Fig. 15 is a plan view of a further modified marker with a ring inthe pair of eyes.

Fig. 16 is a plan view of a still further fied form of marker.

inedi- My novel marker may be formed from sheet metal blank such as shown in Fig. 3, same comprising a plate portion la, and an integral shank portion lb extending from the top edge-thereof, shank portion lb being of substantial length and having spaced tongues lc of substantial width adapted to be bent or rolled back as shown in Fig. 4 to form a pair of spaced eyes, the common axis of which is disposed parallel with the plane of the plate. Each eye is adapted toreceive an end of a chain 2 which is passed around the horns of the animal (Fig. 1) or around the neck of the animal (Fig. 2),-the marker plate secur- 'ing the ends of the chain together.

' wardly within the eyes adjacent the splits, or points'of contact of the outer tips of the tongues with the shanks lb, when the tongues and shank are rolledito form the eyes, theknobs l'cl serving jtoprevent the links'of chain 2 from readily slipping out of the eyes in event the eyes become partially opened or are not fully closed initially,v

the chain resting in front of knob ld as indi- "cated at 20: (Fig. 4) when the eye starts to'open,

or the knob Id presenting a longer slot through which the chain link must slip in passing through a partly opened eye,

The marker shown in Figs. 3 and 4 would preferably be made up with one eye of the pair closed tightly .to lock the engaged link at one end of chain 2 therein, while the other eye of the pair would be left partiallyopen (as illustrated in Figs. 7 and 13) so that in applying the marker to the cattle the farmer or herdsman need only insert a link adjacent the free end of the chain in said open eye and to thereafter apply Sllfilcient pressure to close the open eye, whereby both .ends of thechain which passes around the horns or neck of the live-stock will be locked to the ,rnarker plate la.

- By the above vconstruction, a one-piece marker is provided of inexpensive construction which may be readily applied by a farmer or herdsman around the neck or horns of a cow or other animal. The provision of two closely adjacent eyes lc receiving the ends of the chain v2 or 3 provides a marker in which the plate portion la.

of the marker, which bears the proper identification number or indicia for the respective cow ,or live-stock, will lie fiat upon the forehead of the cow as shown in Fig. l, or will be held exposed to frontview when the marker is used as a neck chain marker as shown in Fig. 2 since the two spaced eyes tend to prevent the adjacent ends of the chain from twisting together.

As the animal grows, it will become necessary for the farmer or herdsman to pry open one eye of the marker and engage a different link of the chain 2 in said opened eye, and then again close the said eye to lock said link therein, thus permitting the overall length of the chain to be elongated to correspondwith the growth of the live-stock. h

In actual practice it has been found that the eyes of such markers may become separatedin.

an axial direction whenever the cattle to which the markers are applied get the chains caught due to locking horns or grazing too near fences or other fixed objects, the strain on the chain tending to pull the eyes apart along their common axis thereby partially opening the eyes. To prevent such spreading I provide a modified form of marker plate shown inFigs. 5,16 and '7, in which the body la is provided with the shank lb and the pair of spaced tongues la, the outer ends of which may be provided with the knobs id in the same manner as above described in connection with Figs. 3 and/l. rIn Figs. 5, 6 and '7, however, thebody is made somewhat wider adjacent its upper end and the sides -of the marker plate la are bentorflanged-outwardly along the dot and dash lines le (Fig. 5) to form flanges I 1 adapted to contact the outer side edges of tongues lc when rolled to form eyes as shown inFigs. 6 and '7, the split in the eyes terminating within the lengths of, the flanges lf. In this modification the upper ends -,of the flanges I 1 further serve to prevent the chain linksfrom passing out of the eyes in event the eyesshould accidentally become partly opened and the flanges greatly reinforce the eyes and'prevent spreading along theircommon axis. a

Instead of the flanges If, shown in Figs. 5 to 'l, a strap B'ma'y be used as shown in Figs. 13 and 14, which strap is of length substantially equal to the overall width of the pair of eyes; One

' end of the strap 3,and one end of chain 2 maybe initially looked as shownin Fig. 13in one eye of the pair, or permanentlysecured therein at the time themarker is made. The other eye of the pair maybe left open, so thatin applying the markerto the live-,stock'the farmer or herds- In practice it is oftenfound that the eyes of the marker platetend to expandiandopen'under tension applied'to the chain 2, andI therefore provide novel preventing means one formzof which is shown 'in- Figs. 8 and 9, in whichthe shank lb of marker platela is provided with spaced bulges lg disposed opposite the centers of the tongues lc andextending outwardly on the shank into position to underlie the outer ends of the rolled tongues lc, as clearlyindicated in Fig. 9, thus forming shoulders upon which the outer ends of the tongues rest to resist opening or expansion of the eyes. Preferably bulges .lg are pressed and offset from the body of theshank itself, but'may be otherwise formed in anydeother means appliedto the shank lb for such purpose. 1 l

Modifications of. the meansfor preventing ready opening or expansion of the eyes are shown -in Figs. 10, 11 and 12 in which the body la is provided with an integral shank lb. Instead of the bulges lg shown in the shank la in Figs. 8 and 9, a transverse recess or rib may be provided extending across the shank adjacent the inner end thereof. Fig. 11 shows the use of a transverse recess Ih pressed from the material of the shank itself, of such width as to receive the outer ends of the tongues lc when rolled to form the eyes, the lower wall of the recess forming a shoulder upon which rest the outer tips of the rolled tongues Ic. Fig. 12 indicates the use of a transverse rib lk, in place of groove lh shown in Fig. 11, the rib H6 being pressed from the shank lb and extending across the full Width of the shank adjacent the lower end thereof and forming a shoulder upon which the outer tips of the tongues lc rest when the tongues are rolled to form the eyes.

If desired, a ring 4, Figs. 15 and 16 may be used cured together in any desired manner, such as by a padlock or by tying. Later, when the animal grows, the ring 4 may be removed from the eyes of the plate and the ends of chain 2 inserted and locked therein as previously described. The plate la (Figs. 15 and 16) may be provided with any of the features, such as flanges If, bulges lg, ribs H0, or grooves in described in the preceding figures.

In Fig. 16 a single relatively broad and heavy eye 10 is used instead of a pair of spaced eyes as in Fig. 15, and the single eye is twisted with respect to the plane of plate la so that the marker may be read from the front of the animal rather than from the side, otherwise the marker in Fig. 16 may be used similarly to that shown in Fig. 15. However, the use of two eyes, as shown in Fig. 15, rather than a single eye (Fig. 16) provides a double lock for the ring 4, and is therefore preferable to use.

I do not limit my inventionto the exact forms shown in the drawings, for obviously changes may be made therein within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. An animal marker or the like, comprising a relatively rigid indicia bearing plate provided with an integral shank extending from its upper edge and rolled to form a closed eye, said eye being openable upon application of relatively heavy stress, an offset portion extending inwardly of the eye at the outer end of the shank; and a shoulder on the base of the shank underlying the outer end of the rolled shank and upon which the said outer end seats.

2. An animal marker or the like, comprising a relatively rigid indicia bearing plate, an integral shank extending from the upper edge of said plate; a spaced pair of tongs extending from the outer edge of said shank; said shank and tongues being rolled to form spaced eyes having their un adiacntthe outer a d or the chainibeiore closing of said eye.

3. An animal markeror the like, comprising a relatively rigid indicia bearing plate; an integral shank; extendingirom ,the upper edge of said plate; a spaced pair of tongues extending from the outer edge of said shank; said shank and tongues being rolledto form spaced eyes having their common axis disposed parallel with the plane of the plate; each said eye being openable upon application of relatively heavy stress; an offset portion extending inwardly of each eye at the outer end of each tongue; and a shoulder on the base of the shank underlying and forming a seat for the outer end of each rolled tongue; said shoulder comprising a transverse rib pressed outwardly from the material of the shank.

4. An animal marker or the like, comprising a relatively rigid indicia bearing plate; an integral shank extending from the upper edge of said plate; a spaced pair of tongues extending from the outer edge of said shank; said shank and tongues being rolled to form spaced eyes having their common axis disposed parallel with the plane of the plate; each said eye being openable upon application of relatively heavy stress; an offset portion extending inwardly of each eye at the outer end of each tongue; and a shoulder on the base of the shank underlying and forming a seat for the outer end of each rolled tongue; said shoulder comprising a transverse groove pressed inwardly from the material of the shank.

5. An animal marker or the like, comprising a relatively rigid indicia bearing plate; an integral shank extending from the upper edge of said plate; a spaced pair of tongues extending from the outer edge of said shank; said shank and tongues being rolled to form spaced eyes having their common axis disposed parallel with the plane of the plate; each said eye being openable upon application of relativelyheavy stress; an

offset portion extending inwardly of each eye at the outer end of each tongue; and a shoulder on the base of the shank underlying and forming a seat for the outer end of each rolled tongue; a chain having one end engaged in one eye, said eye being closed; and the other eye being open and adapted to receive a link adjacent the outer end of the chain before closing of said eye.

6. An animal marker or the like, comprising an indicia bearing plate provided with a relatively rigid shank extending from its upper edge and rolled to form a closed eye, and a shoulder on the base of the shank underlying the outer end of the rolled shank and upon which the said outer end seats.

'7. An animal marker or the like, comprising an indicia bearing plate, a relatively rigid integral shank extending from the upper edge of the plate, a spaced pair of tongues extending from the outer edge of said shank, said shank and tongues being rolled to form spaced eyes having their common axis disposed parallel with the plane of the plate, a shoulder on the base of the shank underlying and forming a seat for the outer end of each rolled tongue, said shoulder comprising a transverse rib pressed outwardly from the material of the shank.

8. An animal marker or the like, comprising an indicia bearing plate, a relatively rigid integral shank extending from the upper edge of the plate, a spaced pair of tongues extending from the outer edge of said shank, said shank and tongues being rolled to form spaced eyes having their common axis disposed parallel with the plane of the plate, a shoulder on the base of the shank underlying and forming a seat for the outer end of each rolled tongue, said shoulder comprising a transverse groove pressed inwardly from the material of the shank.

p 9. An animal marker or the like, comprising an indicia bearing plate, a relatively rigid integral shank extending from the upper edgeof the plate, a spaced pair of tongues extending from the outer edge of said shank, said shank and tongues being rolled to form spaced eyes having their common 10 the outer end of the chain before closing of'said eye.

rLLIAM F. SCI-IA'CH'Ii' 

